The Grade Cricketer: Tea and No Sympathy

This is a sorry tale and all to true, which anyone who has ever been inside a change room will all too readily agree.

The cricket change room, until recently, was the providence of the male: a place inhabited and immersed in a strange culture only able to be related to by those stalwarts who have all but given their lives, in the name of Grade Cricket.

‘Big Fella’ has given his all, his youth, his career, or at least his University studies, to the game. His game is more often off than on, his post-game blood alcohol levels frequently higher that his batting scores, but he lives and breathes for the cricket whites and the game played out every weekend; the mateship, the after game team bonding, along with the ferocious hangover after the weekend.

But there comes a time in his life where he is forced to make a choice, remain as a 30 year old cricket yobbo, or pick up his flailing life and attempt to establish something like a reasonable future. His girlfriend has gone to Guatemala without letting him know, but telling him, via Facebook, that he needs to get a life.

As nothing seems to be gelling from within in Australia he decides to make the move to Britain; move away from his mates and give up cricket once and for all, but somehow ends up playing for a local team, in his first love, cricket.

He very soon discovers that yet again, cricket seems to be consuming his life, his studies are on the back burner and life somehow, is beginning to seem pretty much the same as it was in Australia. Nothing much has changed.

What does it take to make the ‘Big Fella’ discover that there really is more to life than cricket and that strangely enough, if you get it right you can really have it all – cricket and a life!

Each of the characters who populate the pages of the book, as well having nicknames such as Nuggsy, Jonesy and Bevo, have real life personas which can recognised by anyone who has ever graced, or not so gracefully, inhabited the change room.

Therefore, it could be seriously considered that this humorous, tongue in cheek look at cricket from the other side is perhaps not so fictitious after all.

What does the Grade Cricketer really have to do to consider life worth living? Well firstly, consider reading this book!